Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead at the Haymarket Theatre

Tuesday, 29th Mar 2011

Tom Stoppard’s 1966 Play Set to Appear in the West End Under the Direction of Trevor Nunn

With James Corden set to return to The National Theatre in “One Man, Two Guvnors” under the direction Sir Nicholas Hytner from May comes the announcement that two of his co-stars from his breakthrough hit “The History Boys” will also be returning to the stage in high profile roles. Both Samuel Barnett and Jamie Parker, according to the Daily Mail and What’s on Stage, will be appearing in a new production of Tom Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” from June 2011.

Corden, along with Barnett and Parker, appeared in “The History Boys” in 2004 and followed the production as it transferred to Broadway as well. It also appeared on television screens and ensured that the performances of all three were recognised around the country.

But in “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” they will be stepping into a production that takes another look at Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” and focuses on two insignificant courtiers - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. First seen by audiences in 1966 it has also been compared to plays such as “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett and proved to be an enormously successful piece for Stoppard, who has since gone on to find success with production such as “The Real Thing” during his long and successful career.

The plot takes “Hamlet” and turns matters upside-down by focusing on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as we follow them as they try to make sense of themselves, leading to comic and tragic conclusion as they are pushed into the spotlight and consider randomness of their existence.

First staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966 “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” went on to appear at The Old Vic in London and ensured that it was witnessed by a large London theatre audience. This time around, however, it will drum up considerable attention thanks to its director Trevor Nunn, the acclaimed director behind the likes of “Birdsong” at the Comedy Theatre and “Aspects of Love” at the Menier Chocolate Factory, both in 2010.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is due to run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from Thursday 16th June 2011 to Saturday 20th August 2011.